The Twins are known to be looking for rotation depth and a right-handed-hitting outfielder even as spring training gets underway, and Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune writes that Minnesota hasn’t ruled out a reunion with Michael A. Taylor. The veteran Taylor was seeking a two-year deal earlier in the offseason, per the report, though it’s not clear whether that ask remains in place.
Taylor, 33 next month, played his typical brand of plus defense in 2023 with the Twins. He logged 960 innings in center field and wound up being credited with five Defensive Runs Saved and eight Outs Above Average. He went 13-for-14 in stolen base attempts, adding to his track record as a contributor on the basepaths. His season at the plate was a bit more unusual, at least by his standards.
Though he’s not typically known for his power, Taylor belted a career-high 21 homers in just 388 trips to the plate. His .223 isolated power mark (slugging percentage minus batting average) was 83 points higher than the .140 career mark he carried into the season. That surge came at a cost, however. Taylor appeared to perhaps be selling out for power, as his 33.5% strikeout rate was easily a career-high mark over a full season — and nearly 10 percentage points higher than the 23.9% mark he’d turned in with the Royals just one year prior. Taylor finished out the season batting just .220 with a paltry .274 on-base percentage but a heartier .442 slugging percentage.
By all accounts, Taylor enjoyed his time in Minnesota. He said back in October that he hoped to return for the 2024 season. However, he’s not likely to have the same role waiting for him if he opts to return. Byron Buxton didn’t play a single game in center field last season as he battled lingering effects from offseason knee surgery. Buxton is slated to return to center field work this season, which would leave less playing time available for Taylor at Target Field. Of course, Buxton’s injury history is among the lengthiest in baseball, so there’d likely be some stretches where Taylor is pressed into regular duty in center — but it nonetheless seems unlikely he’d approach 1000 innings in the outfield in 2024, as he did last year.
That said, even in the unlikely event that Buxton were healthy enough to play nearly everyday in center, there’d still be ways to get Taylor into the lineup. He tattooed left-handed pitching in ’23, hitting .252/.313/.602 with nine homers in only 112 plate appearances. The Twins will have lefty-swinging bats in both the outfield corners — Matt Wallner, Max Kepler — and could use Taylor to spell either player against southpaw opponents. Kepler is a premium defender himself, making him unlikely to be lifted for a late-game defensive replacement. Wallner, on the other hand, is more of a bat-first left fielder and could be swapped out in such situations. A defensive outfield with Taylor in left, Buxton in center and Kepler in right would be among the best in the game.
Taylor has drawn interest from a wide range of teams this offseason. Each of the Pirates, Angels, Padres, Blue Jays, Reds, Dodgers and Red Sox have been linked to him at various points throughout free agency. Some of those clubs (e.g. Dodgers, Jays) have since gone in other directions in their outfield search, but Taylor is still stands as a fit with many of them.
Minnesota’s front office is likely working with a somewhat limited budget. The Twins stated early in the offseason that they planned to reduce payroll due to uncertainty regarding their television broadcast situation, with Dan Hayes of The Athletic reporting a $125-140MM range as the target at the time. They’re currently projected at about $123.5MM, per Roster Resource, so there’s certainly room to add Taylor back into the fold. Adding Taylor and another arm could prove more difficult within those budgetary constraints, barring some type of late trade to free up a bit more payroll space (e.g. Kyle Farmer). The Twins have also reportedly shown interest in righty-hitting outfielder Adam Duvall. Other options on the market include Randal Grichuk, Enrique Hernandez, Tommy Pham and perhaps Whit Merrifield, who’s expecting to decide on his next team within the next couple days.
The Twins, turning away players that would be among the season hr leaders on the Tigers in 336 at bats…… not a good look.
I seriously question whether he will hit that many homers again. As Steve pointed out, Taylor sold out for power last season, and he’s got to know that a .274 OBP is not going to help him in the long run.
I think I’d rather have Duvall, but Taylor would be a big help as well. I give it only a month or two before Buxtons’s back on the IL…
They need Taylor’s defense out there more than Duvall’s bat
It really is surprising how many players are still available as camps open.
Players hanging out in the premium sections while teams are hanging out in the value sections. Something has to give.
The authoritarian p^gs are enjoying thier monopoly, laughing at the American public, whom they have zero respect for.
Taylor is a pretty under rated player that I like. Good defense, has averaged a 2.5 WAR the past 3 years. He probably won’t hit 20 homers again but is a super solid 4th OF type who is good enough to start a lot. A reunion would make a lot of sense, esp after Polanco trade gives them some $$.
I hope Buxton stays healthy for a change, a hell of a player when he’s right. But Taylor makes a lot of sense as depth if Buxton has typical injury prone season.
Think he makes a lot of sense for the twins, mainly for the reasons you listed.
He’s probably still holding out for a team that has real ABs available or no good CF options into next year. MN may turn out to be that team if Buxton gets hurt again and Martin isn’t ready, but no one will know that for weeks.
I wonder if he called Byron to find out how many CF games he really expects to play. Telling everyone at the winter fan fair that he’s excited and ready to go is one thing, but when it’s a teammate making career choices he might be a little more realistic. If BB is really that confident then MAT might keep looking for a better gig for a while before settling for a backup role in MIN.
If Taylor is willing to take 4th outfielder money and playing time, I’d have no issues with bringing him on. I don’t think he’s keen on either of those.
They probably should re-sign him. No real options left on the team to handle CF during long stretches when Buxton is inevitably on the IL and Taylor can at least do that plus defensive sub for him late in games
If Taylor came in as a late game defensive sub, it’d be to replace Wallner, not Buxton since Buxton is a step above even Taylor defensively.
Willi Castro is the obvious choice at the moment. He’s just as fast as Taylor and has a solid arm as well. Castro has the tools needed to play the position, but he’ll need some experience to put them to best use.
Castro’s bat has upside over Taylor’s as well. Not sure what the Twins have in store, but I agree the Twins are too light on CF depth. The issue with Taylor is I don’t think he wants to get paid like a player who is only expected to play in 60 games a year.
Michael A. Taylor > Azocar at the moment.
This offseason makes me not want to be a twins fan anymore
If we would just pick up a solid SP, then I’d be happy with out offseason. We simply don’t have a strong enough rotation to be as good as we were last year. I get that they’re hoping for more offense, but I just don’t see it:(
99.99% certainty Buxton will get injured. Michael A Taylor, sign with Twins and you will get plenty of playing time just like last year. Get this done Twins before Buxton goes down & Taylor has more leverage.